A Venture into Potty-training!

So we ventured into potty-training a little more than a week ago. I was inspired by my neighbors who recently potty-trained their daughter who is about 6 weeks younger than Gracie using this 3-day Diaperless program.

I had to make a few alterations because following the program 100% was not realistic for us. I'm pleased with the results so far and thought I'd share my experiences and adjustments.

The basic premise of this program is that the toddler goes diaper-free for three days, during which you stay home and encourage peeing by lots of liquids.

I will admit, going diaper-free is a bit easier with a girl than it might be with a boy. I put Gracie in dresses, so she does have some coverage and doesn't feel completely naked. She learned pretty quickly to hold the dress up to pee.

The first few days we stayed home quite a bit. Gracie definately had accidents the first several hours, but also some successes. By the end of the first day she was peeing on the potty the majority of the time. The second day was almost completely accident free.

The potty chair is in the living room and when she is resistant to sitting still, we watch a little TV or read a book and almost always sing a "potty song" (usually Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) to encourage her to sit long enough to pee. There are other suggestions in the article that we use also.

The program encourages bare-bottomed outings, bringing the potty chair along in the car. I have done this some, but usually I'm out by myself with the kids--and managing an infant, a bare-bottomed toddler, potty chair and 5yr old just isn't feasible. (I know I am brave and try a lot, but that's not one thing I'll do!)

Gracie has been in diapers most of the time when we are away from home. However, we always use the potty right before and after each trip and sometimes her diaper stays dry. She has surprised us by having a dry diaper after some of her naps and even a few mornings.

At this point, Gracie is almost accident free while we are at home--even though she's in a diaper for outings. The next step is having her in knit pants or shorts (no panties or pull-ups underneath) at home and learning to stay dry. Last night she was in knit pants for about 4 hours (including at a restaurant) and she stayed dry. Whoo-hoo!!

This has been a great program for us to use and we are progressing quickly. I'm hoping that by the end of this week Gracie will be in bottoms and staying dry--even when we aren't home. She did adjust to being bare-bottomed, but it hasn't been her favorite.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Potty-training Not Me! Monday blog and laugh at some of our funnier moments!